thanks for joining us everybody. >> america's news headquarters starts now. thank you, guys. at this hour we are waiting new reaction from the white house after the bombshell claims by former secretary of defense robert gates. >> i am bill hemmer. >> and the alisyn camerota, this tell- all book is raising questions about the leadership style. according to gates, politics influenced policy. brett hume is the political analyst. >> hi, ally, what to you make of secretary gates publishing the revealing memior, harsh memior while president obama is in office? >> i am surprised it came out

the way that it did and surprised at bob gates who harbored the feelings of what went on in the obama administration held his tongue until now. i am not sure it is most flattering thing we say about him. but broadly speaking what he said happen has a ring of truth. >> do i have in to the juiciest tidbits the. starting with the president's style. his white house was by far the most centralized and controlling in national security of any you had seen since richard nixon and henrow kissinger rowelled the roost. >> president obama ran on running the most transparent white house. he promised in 2008. what do you make of that exexcerpt? >> there is no conflict of transparency and keeping a tight

reign from the white house on the whole national security. by itself nothing is wrong with that. but gates as you know, goes on to say that he had none too senior of the members of the white house staff making calls to senior military commanders and dispensing orders which is way outside of the chain of command and entirely inappropriate. and he intervened to stop that and had generals and others refer the calls to him. i don't doubt the truth of what he said. >> talk about the next excerpt. this is the one that reveals the naked political posterring if ident obama. of hillary here's what he said. hillary told the president that her opposition to the surge in iraq was political because she was facing him in the iowa primary. the president consoweded

vahhingly that the opposition to the iraq surge was political. to hear them making those admissions was surprising as it was dismaying. what do you think? >> i think it is probably true they said that to each other. it tells us more about hillary clinton than it does about president obama. after all he voiced his opinion of the view of the surge at the time. you have to understand this about president obama and military decisions. these at to youeds are what you may expect from someone whose background was a chicago community organizer and later a teacher in a law school and professor and instructor anyway. it is not surprising that he has the same thing that so many democratic politicians have postvietnam in their dna. and that is distrust of command and military commanders.

>> what does it say about hillary clinton? if secretary gates is taken at his word, do you think that affects hillary's presidential aspiration. >> i think it is embarrassing to her. she is not as dovish as leading democrats, she was not as dovish as president obama. after all she carried through that primary campaign the burden in democratic circles of voting to authorize the war in iraq. and so along comes the surge that the president is trying to take to redeem that conflict and in return snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and she opposed it and she admitted she did so because she was running against him. i think that is telling and probably true and not helpful to her aspiration. >> his impression of vice-president joe boyd bide.

he doesn't have much respect for the vice-president. he's been wrong on every major foreign policy and national security issue for the past four decades. >> he's not the only one that said that about joe boyd boyd and the list of things joe biden was for and against that turned out to go the other way is pretty long. when one thinks, he resisted the persian and cruise missile in europe. and voted against the first gulf war what was a major military victory and the list goes on. and he wanted to break iraq up in component pieces. gates was, felt that was a bad idea. the list is long with joe bide boyd. and gates as i say not the first one who said that about him. >> brit hume, always gret to get your take. >> on the last thing about foreign policy. the book suggests that politics played heavily in the decisions

of iraq and afghanistan because the chief did not trust his military advisors. kt, good afternoon to you. you have known bob gates going back four deck readies. >> we both worked for help row kiss ifrmger and our desk were ten feet apart. he is a man of intellect and great american patriot. i take the book as truth. he doesn't use it as an opportunity to make himself look good. the truth, bill, is harrowing. if you have a president of the united states for callous political reasons was for or against the political war, and sent men and women in the combat to do i and bleed and bear the burden and injuries for the rest of their days not because the president thought it was the right policy or win, but because he could get a few more votes.

that is an abrogation of the commander in chief's responsibility. we have the greatest military in the history of the world and one of the greatest gifts our founding fathers gave us was civilian control of the military. no where in the history of the world was a powerful military that didn't want to take charge and give orders. we don't do that here. but at the same time the president has a sacred responsibility to the men and women in uniform not to put them in harm's way and fol's errand as the implication of afghanistan. >> that is a sacred trust, you say the comments from the book demonstrate what many long suspected about what, about whom? >> about president obama. was he really in favor of the afghan war? when he campaigned against the iraq war and that was the bad bush war. and he was against the surge. i mean, if he didn't come out in

favor of some war, he would look like a typical left wing liberal who was afraid of using the military. he said afghanistan was the right war. he had the surge. and as bob gates in the book points out. obama didn't trust the military or trust his commander or ally hammid karzi and department feel that the military was going to succeed in their mission. so why did he send thousands of more military men and women in a surge that he felt would lose. >> leon panneta, former cabinet member. when he left the administration, he was critical. stanley mccrystal relieved of his duty was critical as well. >> is this what happens in washington or is there more on the book and allegations from this former defense secretary about this president? >> i think there is much more to it, bill. bob gates is someone respected

on both sides of the political aisle and not going to puff his own resume and make himself look good in the history books. he is very critical of himself as well as president obama. and to say this, to say that the president of the united states deliberately was willing to send men and women in harm's way for a mission he knew would not suck sowed or early on knew it would not succeed, it is really showing a president that is not fulfilling his requirements under the constitution. and secretary gate said good things about hillary clinton in the book, but in a telling remark, talks about her saying that her position on iraq was driven by politics as well. it is damming for both of them. >> we'll get in that 20 minutes from now. it is a strong charge. kt, thank you for your reaction. kt mcfar land here in new york. the artic blast appears to be easing the grip on much of the country but not before the

bitter cold turned deadly. 21 cold- related deaths in the country since sunday. five people died after collapsing while shovelling snow. how is it looking, rick? >> it is better but take a couple of days before it is above average. temperatures 16 in atlanta. nine in new york. seven in bostonment minus 11 in minneapolis. it feels like one degrees in chicago and 11 in new york city. and 41 in atlanta. in the last 24 hours, look at temperatures, for everybody in the eastern side of the country, 15 or 25 degrees warmer than you were. it is not warm, but warmer than you were and that feels better. today's temperatures, all of that peak is gone for high temperatures. for friday we'll improve and be back above freeze nothing chicago. and same goes for saturday.

and a warm up by saturday in the eastern sea board back in the 50s. one city, atlanta is breaking records for overnight low temperatures and cold air. typically around 52. and saturday back to 63. people are going to be happy to see that. and i know you are included in that alisyn. >> my closet is confused. it doesn't know what is going on there. speaking of cold a woman delivered her baby by herself. she was alone, she was in a snow storm in indiana. >> a first- time mom in indianapolis always planned to have her baby at home but not the way it happen. she went in labor on sunday, no one could get to her because of the snow. >> once the water broke and i realized this was it, all fear went away. and i realized it was not going to help me and we had to be a

team and do it together and so we did it. >> we are told mom and baby are doing well. the baby is evafrjlinbeattrix. >> nickname snow flake. >> what is your best moment under pressure. >> it was not that. >> you can send me your tweet at bill hemmer. >> and to me at alisyn camerota. >> that's right. in the meantime, battle over jobless benefits continues. republicans saying any democratic bill extending them has to be dollar for dollar in spending cuts. will that happen? >> and a brutal crime sending shockwaves in latin america, a beauty queen and her husband is shot dead in the car with their young daughter. >> and a van filled with people careening down a mountain. brakes fail and a tragic ending

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afghastan, in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's ened, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former miliry members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an au insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it. it's out there somewhere spreading the good word about idaho potatoes and raising money for meals on wheels. but we'd really like our truck back, so if you see it, let us know, would you? thanks. what?

breaking news from the white house now, we have video now. we could get still pictures, but this is actually a video of a weekly occurrence when the vice-president and president have lunch. why is this significant? >> it is because secretary robert gates book has come out and excerpts show that secretary gates did not have a lot of respect for vice-president bide boyd. >> that's one possible cynical answer or they want to show what a great lunch they are having? >> the white house announced after the gates story started leaking they were going to invite cameras in today. it is rarely if ever done even though there is a lunch regulary

on the schedule. we want to share that for you. >> great stuff. >> and meanwhile, california highway approximate trol releasing chilling 911 call from a driver and six people trapped in a van speeding out of control down a mountain outside of sacramento. >> are you going west bound. the call ends with the van slamming in another car that burst in flames. a 90-year-old woman was in the car and died at the scene. the others were rushed ho hospitals. there are a few things drivers can do in that situation. >> the cause of the collision is under investigation. you can shift the gear in neutral and it will rev and allow you to stop.

>> investigators are looking into the possibility of a stuck accelerator or brake problem. when the white house chief of staff called me and brought the issue of extended unemployment benefits, i made clear we would consider extending unemployment benefits if we can pay for & get our economy back to work. >> and passing a democratic bill to extend the benefits. stephen, hello to you. the key phrase for boehner if they are paid for. >> yeah, call me skeptical, i don't believe that these will be truly paid for. what we do in washington. say we are going to pay for things and put off the cuts for 5 or 10 years and the cuts never

actually happen. and the key phrase for john boehner. will we do something that helps the economy and grows jobs. my problem is extending unemployment insurance is bad for the economy and encourages people to stay out of the work force and like a paid vacation for people and a tax on employers. if we are going to do this, what are we going to do to grow the economy and get the jobs back nothing in the bill does that. >> are you suggesting that the idea to pay for it is raise the payroll tax paid for by employers anyway? is that where you get the president? >> that was president obama's proposal in the last budget that came out in january of last year. as soon as the unemployment rate starts to fall, we'll raise the payroll tax. it is important for viewers to understand it is not free money. money for unemployment insurance

comes out of a payroll tax that comes out. and bill, if you think about that, that is a double whammy on the xhechlt you are paying them not to work and charging employers and that makes it more expensive. n6 billion and chump change. >> you expect it to go through or will it be stopped in the house in some form, stephen? >> that is a toss up question. it is tough because all of the media saying oh, my goodness, it is so cruel if you don't provide unemployment benefits. we extended them in 2008 and 9, and 10 and 12 and 20013 and 14. if you get two years of benefits when you lose your job. >> i saw a number 19 million americans in the past five years are receiving food stamps. 19 million more. you are up around 47 million.

unemployment rate at seven percent and greater than 60 months and to your original point to complete the circle and improve the economy and that's how you solve the problem. exactly, the jobs are not there. if i were a member of congress, maybe we will extend the benefits. we are going to cut taxes and build the key stone pipeline and get people with good jobs and good pay that is noting happening in washington. >> it is up to 30 degrees here. it is real warm. compared to yesterday. we have chilling new details on the road rage murder. police say about the suspect that is making the manhunt more urgent. >> also ally. did teens make the grade you wonder? >> biggest technology show in the world and up close look at

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an update on a story we brought you yesterday. the suspect in a road rage murder could kill again if he is not caught soon. the victim in pennsylvania was found shot to death after calling 911 to report he was being followed. they think the gun men slammed and forced it off the road and opened fire. yesterday here in hq mark

furman. >> the vehicle could be stolen. they need to look at recent stolen vehicles that match the color and size and type of the vehicle. there could be other crimes involved before and after, and basically, they need to find the vehicle and hopefully, they find the vehicle intact. >> police say the victim age 28 timothy davidson was heading home to maine after spending holidays with family in florida when he was murdered. >> are adolescents getting enough exercise? a new study said no. after following 800 kids for a year, it found one in four kids age 12- 15 years old mote the recommend aegzs of moderate or vigorous activity every day. to join us to so if it is really a problem is senior manny alvarez and a member of the fox a- time.

and mimi ross founder of national association against obessitty. they are getting moderate or vigorous activity every day, are the numbers surprising to you? >> no, they are not surprising, sad but not surprise. adults don't xez and little kids don't exercise. it is not a shock. >> i was not getting an hour of exercise when i was 12 or 15 years old. >> are you sure. >> no, i didn't play any sports. here's what i d. i did home work and watched tv. >> yes. >> and i ate well. and i, like many teenagers had a racing metabolism. do they need to really get an hour of vigorous exercise. >> you don't need a study. i look at this in a political point of view. you know, president obama and his wife, they get the baton in the beginning of the administration, we'll do something about lowering the

obsessitty rate and they talk the game but done didly squat. 25 percent of the survey, say those kids are getting exercise. that means 75 percent are getting exercise. no exercise in the schools because they have no money. people don't have money in school budget to give education. stop talking about studies and the band wayingon of lowering the obsessitty rate. >> i don't remember them blaming on republicans but i think what you are saying, there is a lot of public awareness that we need exercise but we are not doing it. >> it has to come down to the parents. i agree that exercise should be in school. it has to be. but beyond that parents are responsible for the health and well-being of their children period. they need to make sure they wear

warm jacket and bed time and off drugs and unwanted pregnancy and if you are not up to the task of making sure your child is eating right and exercising. you shouldn't be a parent in the first place. >> thanks to this administration in the economy and worry about two jobs to pay your bills, i have no time to make them do physical exercise. >> it is the schools are too busy. >> fuare healthy and you are doctor and not physically fit. >> that is no exercise. >> are you against exercise. >> i am not over weight. they are not over weight because they exercise in school. >> perfect. >> but middle america is not getting resources that they need. that's the whole point. >> it doesn't take resources to do exercise. i had no money to be a member of the gym. i ran in 90 degrees weather. >> i have teachers that want to do physical education. >> i was speaking.

>> go a head. >> you can exercise with many resources. you can do pushups and sit ups and run in and jog in place even with a jump rope. you have to be willing to do it. i am a obese mother and father and aunt and uncles and i know you can't be healthy without exercising. you got to exercise. >> i hear you both are saying that this is a passionate topic and you believe they need it an hour a day in schools? >> i think it is a government survey, this is a federal initiative which is a proper initiative to have. you have to bring resources to bear so children can get the help they need. >> they need it in school. i agree with that. >> i have burned calories in this segment which i blame you both. thank you so much. >> i guess i will go to the gym and watch tv. >> and well, watching and working.

>> i hear you, sister. >> thank you. >> and the shocking murder of this beauty queen. shot dead in front of her young daughter while on vacation. we'll hear from that disturbing crime. we'll hear from the white house and the reaction of the administration about what it said about the book from former defense secretary. robert gates. >> a humble american patriot and quite simply the finest public serviceant. feet...splashing. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to ma, now may be time to ask about xeljanz. xeljz (tofacitinib) is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well.

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right now a quick check of the headlines, a sad story out of colorado, an avalanche killed one person and injuring three others. the man who died was the grandson of the resort co-founder. >> and a video of a helmet camera shoes michael schumacher skiing off and hit his head. he is still in a coma. >> and this special treatment allowing the pope to greet those in the square.

>> he said you are the taxi driver i was looking for. >> who doesn't want to ride on a pope mobile? >> we are waiting the start of the white house briefing. we expect new reaction to the bombshell of a book from former defense secretary robert gates. kristep powers and blake blackman. >> hello to you. christen, what do you expect him to say? is it a defense or, this is a cabinet member who worked close with each other? >> yeah, they put out a statement saying they disagree with the assessment which is what you expect. i would assume it will be respectful but they will claim that a lot of the stuff is not accurate. i can't imagine the president or hillary clinton are going to admit to that conversation that bill gates said he witnessed

where they were talking about how they voted against the surge for a political reason. so it will be interesting to see how that is finessed. >> there are a lot of the revelations in the book. but one of them. hillary clinton made a political calculation not based on what was best for the united states or people in iraq, but best for her campaign and that's why she decided to oppose the surge. if you believe robert gates' account. dow think this affects her presidential aspirations at all? >> i do. obama and hillary clinton admitted it was political because they were running for president. if they are going to make a political decision like that when they are running for president, is it more likely than not they make a decision with lies and cover up for benghazi, just weeks before the

president's reelection. if you believe they politicalized a military operation for personal gain in 2007, more than likely they did the same with benghazi and that's what hillary clinton's a chilles hill as they battle for the nomination. >> do you think it affects hillary clinton's presidential run? >> i think it poses a difficulty for her, but the problem with this, for people who want to make it an issue, it is a he said, she said situation. someone saying she said this. i i highly doubt that i said that i didn't vote for the surge because of politics. >> this is not a guy off of the street. >> i agree. >> this is the former defense secretary. >> we have to wait and see what she said. if she said, i didn't say this, where does that leave people? it will make it harder to stick to her.

people will sort of go to their respective corners and people who want to believe it will and. >> and brad, it is a he said, she said. >> people think thatlary clinton makes political decisions. that's part of the rap on her. >> no question about it. again, bill touched on it, it goes to credibility. what does gates have to gain by making the refalation. he made it in a way that is disopponentment. it disa pointed him both of the president of the united states and secretary of state hillary clinton, both now serve nothing the highest capacity of american government would do these things to gain power. that's what he is reporting. i believe he has more credibility than hillary and the president on this particular issue. >> i think. >> go a head. i think he has mrebty to gain. he has a lot to be upset about.

they could say he has an a xe to grind with the white house. >> thank you, we are waiting on jay carney. appreciate it. >> the murder of a beauty queen and her ex-husband, latest crime in a country riddled with violence. armed robbers in venezuela opened fire on the couple and the five-year-old daughter when they tried to look themselves down in a broken car. steve, what do we know? >> bill, this kind of carjacking is all too common in venezuela highways. they used rocks and sharp objects to disable the vehicle and carjacking that went wrong. the family tried to look themselves in the 2002 toyota. the gun men fired shots and killed both parents. the beauty queen had moved to south florida for security

reasons and had been robbed six separate times in venezuela. her family here is devastated. she is dead and her ex-husband dead and the five-year-old daughter shot in the leg and witnessed the horrible crime. >> more on that when we get from miami. >> and bill, sales are soaring in the first day to open legal recreational marijuana shops and they could soon run out of pot. did america come out of the gate too fast on marijuana? we'll debate. >> and hottest new gadgets of the world's biggest technology show. some just for fun. >> the boom box is not new. >> that is for fun. >> there are others that could change your life they say. can't wait.

when i am on tv and gretchen

is coming up here while i exercise. >> after a show. >> tread mel or elliptical. >> former defense secretary robert gates bombshell book. and the white house is responding with a photoop with the president and vice-president lunching together. >> and using taxpayer dollars using taxpayer ads in the olympics. we'll so see a pajama by. and big news, mcdonald is changing the burger? all on the real story in the top of the hour. >> don't touch the fries. >> meanwhile, growing pains and legalizing pot and recreational marijuana shops in colorado are running out of supplies because of demand. in washington state pot shops open later this year, the state may have an oversupply of pot

dproirs and making going into business unfeasible. is america coming out of the gate too fast. and let's debate it. john walters served as president bush's drug czar. & ending prohibbition. and treating the pot like alcohol. >> so glad you are with me. congressman, you supported your state legalizing marijuana and i read this morning that in so doing. colorado is expected to bring in $67 million in tax revenue this year but congressman, what do you say to critics who say you are making the money in the expense of people who see all sorts of health and other repercussions of using pot. >> 67 million away from the criminal cartel and the gang and out of the hands of violent criminals. we are able to keep marijuana

out of the hands of kids. a corner drug dealer doesn't care if they are selling to 14-year-old. state regulated businesses will lose their license if they sell to people under the age of 21. >> how do you respond to that? i know you don't like. it >> they are not doing anything about the corner drug dealers and they continue and providing a larger market and encouragement for use. it will be impossible to have prevention measures. there is a huge boost in a d revenues of people advertising marijuana. what does that do? it tells kids and adults it is okay. marijuana is the biggest source of treatment need bigger than all drugs combined nationwide. facts don't support this and you have to play dumb and looks like the congressman who went to princeton is a smart guy playing dumb. >> congressman, what do you say

about the lack of precautionary measures in the state? >> every parent in america gets. this if you are a parent of a 15 or 17-year-old it is one response. if you catch your kid with liquor or marijuana in the back pack, it is entirely different with heroin or cocaine. parents get. this the law needs to catch up and treat marijuana like alcohol and banned for people under 21 and a controlled substance. and let different cities and counties and states decide how to do this. we have dry counties in texas that don't allow the sell of alcohol and many counties in colorado that will not allow the sale of marijuana. that is fine. >> what about the analogy of alcohol and pot. we have to figure out how to get it out of the hands of teens just like with marijuana. >> this is a fact- free discussion by the congressman. one, the argument he is making

about taking money from drug cartel. why doesn't he legalize them all. marijuana is a money maker and so are the other ones and since the talk has continued. national surveys showed fewer and fewer young people feel that marijuana is a serious drug of abuse. drug use is going up by teens and attitudes about the dangers are going down. and parents are less eager to talk because the culture is deciding. there is a vacum of leadership and the congressman is using authority to create bad arguments to make more young people and americans suffer. we have seen the movie several times before in other counterfeit ryes. if he wants to use marijuana use it. but if you don't, the reasons why you don't you don't inflict on other people. >> marijuana is not inflicted on anybody.

it is unhealthy just like alcohol is unhealthy. it is a different type of damage than heroin and cocape and the drug enforcement establishment needs to acknowledge the factual realty. >> we could talk for it an to say. i invite comments on twitter at alisyn camerota. we'll have you back. much more to debate about this. thanks for your time. >> my pleasure. >> white house in a moment, reaction to robert gates book. bringing together written lyrics to an american classic and the flag that inspired them. >> stay tuned, big tech show in las vegas. adam, what's on tap? >> from the absurd like a pet fitness tracker, really? to amazing, people like me that can't sing a lick and makes us simon and garfunkel. if you want to see this, stick around. ♪ only on fox

>> we are moments away from a white house briefing where we expect press secretary jay carney to respond to some of the bombshell revelations made in the new memoir by former secretary of defense robert gates. so we have gotten the two-minute warning about two minutes ago and we will listen in for when mr. carney begins responding to that and bring you all the headlines. >> all right. in the meantime day two of consumer electronics show. adam is doing karaoke. true story. he's live in las vegas. >> there's so many absurd things, crazy, and cool stuff. i said this earlier, pet fit. it tracks your pet's fitness. really? you want to know how fatifiedo is just lo at him. if you have your own dinosaur

for $500. you have to pet it. that's like dealing with the producer. she's going to slap me. you have samsung tablet 12.2 inches. one of the cool items. you have a basketball tells you how well, not well, dribbles, spin, arc on the shot. used by college teams, affordable. feels like a real basketball, is a real basketball, you don't know it has technology inside. this is great for my life. bluetooth headphones. she never recharges them. what they have is a direct line plugged into mp 3. i'll give it back to you right now because i know you have a very important fox news alert. >> back to the white house now, jay carney at the podium. we'll see at what point they get into the robert gates pushback. >> i would reiterate that the president and the rest of us

here simply disagreement with that assessment. as a senator and vice president, joe biden has been one of the leading statesmen of his time, and he has been an excellent counselor and adviser to the president for the past five years. he's played a key role in every major national security and foreign policy debate and policy discussion in this administration, in this white house. he played important roles obviously in the policy discussions in carrying out the policy decisions the president made with regards to iraq and in the policy deliberations over afghanistan. the president has said many times that he greatly appreciates the advice and counsel the vice president gives him on matters both domestic and foreign. that is absolutely the case.

>> how do you respond to the charge the white house is too controlling on national security issues and brings micro managing and meddling to a new level in his words. said he almost resigned over it. >> as we said yesterday, the president greatly appreciates secretary gates' service to the president's administration and to the country. secretary gates was part of a team that helped bring about an end to the iraq war, helped decide upon and implement far superior and improved policy in afghanistan that was much more clear in its objectives. it had as part of that policy an end to a war which was clear

policy objective of the president's and which we are implementing now. so when it comes to internal interagency process, the president expects it to be robust. he expects to hear competing points of view from every member of his national security team. a lot of you wrote about or talked about at the time that the president picked a team of rivals. when you pick of team of rivals, you do so in part because you expect competing points of view and competing opinions. that's very much what the president expects in foreign policy and domestic policy and that's what he gets. he's grateful for it. >> quickly on the nsa meetings over the next couple of days. what's the purpose of those? is the president informing people coming to him what he's planning to do or collecting information? >> he is still in the process of deliberating over review groups

report and hearing from others on the issues raised in the review group's report. the president overall review, not just the review group but others involved in assessing how we gather our intelligence and what reforms we might make to the process. he's at that stage still where he's listening and discussing with a variety of stakeholders these issue and appreciates very much the opinion and counsel he's getting on these matters. >> do the comments in the book vice president biden prompt decisions to let photographers into the -- today. >> you know president and vice president have a standing weekly lunch. when the vice president is in town, he attends virtually all meetings that the president holds especially on national

security matters. as you know, because we discussed this a lot at the end of last year, we've been committed to providing better access to photographers at the white house. today was part of fulfilling that commitment. again, i don't think anybody who has covered us or knows the president, vice president, knows how this white house functions has any doubt in the president's faith in vice president biden as an adviser and counselor. so we don't need to reinforce that, it's a fact. >> this photo was a coincidence. >> it was. he had the weekly lunch. we've had, as you can ask our friends in the world of photography here debate and discussion wit